21st Century Upright Punk Rock Etude: Kira

LAST MONTH WE LOOKED AT SOME
different ways to marry the organic power
of arco double bass with the monstrous
electric power of heavy metal. This month
we look in a different, but somewhat complementary
direction: punk rock.

As D. Boon of the Minutemen famously
said, “Punk is whatever we made it to be.”
This seemed especially true of the generation
of American iconoclasts associated
with independent labels such as SST and
Discord in the 1980s. Not unlike prog-rock
or fusion of the time, these bands experimented
with song structure, lyrical content,
improvisation, and even crowd
control. But unlike their more “respectable”
counterparts, the punks sought to disrupt
the complacent social order they inherited.

The defiant excitement of punk rock
captivated me as a teenager as much as
metal, but for different musical and social
reasons. Those two influences, combined
with my budding love for free jazz, meant
I was one confused bass player, not quite
knowing where to focus my musical energy.
Enter The Process of Weeding Out, Black
Flag’s 1985 instrumental record, on which
those young, self-taught punks tried to harness
the energy and freedom of Albert Ayler
and Ornette Coleman, musicians they were
digging at the time. Suddenly I didn’t feel
so alone, and was led to the realization that
music is not about picking a team and sticking
to it—it’s about finding things that resonate
with you as an individual and diving
into them without regard for rules.

This piece is a punk rock etude I wrote
for solo double bass, inspired by not only
the music of Black Flag and their comrades,
but their ethos as well. It is named after
Kira Roessler, the great bassist of Black Flag
and Dos (with fellow So-Cal punk bass legend
Mike Watt). Her feel grounded Black
Flag in this period, and her sound and playing
were clean, full, and propulsive.

The fun begins with a busy pizzicato
(plucked) riff, in the tradition of late-era
Black Flag, No Means No, or Fugazi. It is
kind of fast and should probably be played
with the first two fingers of the right hand
(and with either fingers or a pick if you’re
playing bass guitar). Try to get as much
meat on the string as you can to get a full
yet clear sound.

Don’t be disconcerted by the time signature—
the odd number of beats is intended
to rock in an angular way, but rock
nonetheless. It is a simple composite of 5/4
and 6/4, and feels natural once you let yourself
hear it that way. Hit the triple stops hard in bars 3–8, strumming through the
strings with the meat of the right thumb;
this will sting at first if you haven’t done it
before, but as with all finger-skin, it will callous
quickly. Think of these hits as Black
Flag/Descendents drummer Bill Stevenson
pounding his toms and kick drum in unison
with all his might.

The last bar of the piece is a repeating
bass figure, a simpler take on the business of
the first line, and a possible jumping off point
for some liberating improvising of your own.
Don’t worry too much about key center or
scales here—just follow your ear where it leads
after playing the written material. Have fun,
and get ready for the next exploration: an
etude celebrating the singularly melodic
approach of punk bassist Mike Watt.